Norman Reedus Was “Desperately Unhappy” About That Midseason Cliffhanger On ‘The Walking Dead’

Norman Reedus, who plays fan favorite Daryl Dixon on AMC’s hit ‘The Walking Dead’ shares on sentiment with fans of the show: his displeasure with the impending death of Carl Grimes, portrayed by Chandler Riggs. In the biggest deviation from the comic book source material, Carl was bitten by a walker in the season eight midseason finale. When the show returns from its winter hiatus on February 25, viewers will get, what is likely to be their final glimpse of Riggs in the role of a lifetime.

“I was desperately unhappy about that. I’ve seen Chandler grow up from a little boy. I’ve known that kid so long, and it always hurts when you lose a family member on the show. Chandler is definitely a family member to me. I was not happy about it. I always thought Chandler would be the last man standing, to be honest.”

“The people that started this show, to me, are the heart of the show. When you lose those key members, it’s such a big blow to the show, and to the fans, and to us that are there. Who’s left? There’s only a few of us left out of all those people. If you wanted to turn it into a totally different show, you get rid of those people. But if you want to hold onto what made the show special, you’ve got to be very careful what you do with those people.”

Of the originals, only Daryl, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) and Morgan Jones (Lenny James) are left, although most would also include later additions Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Morgan is being spun off to companion series ‘Fear the Walking Dead’, bringing the list of original survivors lower by one.

Riggs is leaving to attend college and plans to also pursue additional acting opportunities and music. Reedus said “I love Chandler. He’s very talented, and he’s very driven, and he’s going to do great.”

Jax Motes

Jax's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes.